Today in Technology History

An event that occurred on this date in the history of technology.

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June 6

The inventor of the folding chair, common in movie theaters and auditoriums, was James Morrison Steele MacKaye, who was born 161 years ago.

Generally known as "Steele MacKaye," he was born in Buffalo, New York, on June 6, 1842. Among his boyhood friends were William and Henry James and Winslow Homer (who grew up to be famous as a psychologist, a novelist and a painter, respectively). He studied briefly in Paris as a teenager. Although we don't know whether he ever saw battle during the U.S. Civil War, we do know that he joined the military -- because his first role as an actor was in a performance of Hamlet featuring members of his regiment.

MacKaye then formally studied and took up acting, and he became involved in every aspect of the theater business. He wrote more than 20 plays and then built his own playhouses, which he filled with various inventions. He made a new artificial ventilation system. He invented a stage with two levels that could be raised and lowered. He designed a lighting and projection system that was capable of producing a wide range of effects. And, as we mentioned, he invented the folding seat for his audience.

His crowning achievement was to be the "Spectatorium," a massive auditorium he designed for the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. It was to hold 12,000 people, and its gigantic stage was to be the scene for a performance honoring Columbus. Only a large working model was constructed before the project fell apart for financial reasons. MacKaye died, apparently of nervous exhaustion, in 1894.

One of MacKaye's sons, Percy, also became a well-known playwright. Another son, Benton, planned and oversaw the construction of the Appalachian Trail, a popular American hiking trail.

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